Last night up to 30 people in the East Wall area of Dublin had to seek alternative accommodation due to severe flooding.
Gardaí said that up to 10 streets in the area were flooded as the Royal Canal and the Tolka River - which run parallel either side of East Wall - burst their banks.
Most streets affected were under 1½ feet of water, with the worst under three feet. Gardaí also said that all the houses in Shamrock Terrace had been abandoned.Other homes not affected by the flooding were last night still without power.
Dublin Corporation was sandbagging houses in streets not yet affected by the waters in case fears were realised that the high tide would bring further flooding to the area at around 3 a.m.
Local residents said that at about 2 p.m. the electricity went off and that by 2.30 p.m. the streets were flooded.
Ms Emily Byrne of Irvine Terrace said: "First the power went off. About 20 minutes later the water in my house was up to my knees. It came in the front and the back of the house at the same time". An elderly resident, Ms Frances Dixon of Hawthorne Terrace, said: "Everything is destroyed. My whole house is destroyed. I've never seen it this bad, ever." Mrs Dixon has lived at Hawthorne Terrace all her life.
Local hauliers with lorries and taxi drivers assisted the emergency services in evacuating the 30 people to the East Wall Community Centre on St Mary's Road.
By 8 p.m. last night nine people had been moved to emergency accommodation in the Baskin reception centre in Finglas which is up to hotel standards.
The Baskin reception centre, originally built to house refugees but now unused, has 250 beds.
While the other 21 residents were relocated to friends and relatives, the majority of those affected decided to remain in their homes. Gardaí were overnight maintaining a foot and mobile presence in East Wall in case of emergency.
The streets affected by the flooding in East Wall are: Church Road, St Mary's Road, Fairfield Road, Moyelta Road, Caledon Road, West Road to Hawthorne Road/Terrace, Russell Avenue, Irvine Terrace and Blythe Avenue.